Alison Redford, the new premier of Alberta, has announced her plans for improving health care as promised in her pre-election platform. I would like to recommend a priority to help gain support for publicly funded and delivered health care, in co-operation with other provinces and the federal government, through membership in the Canada Health Council. The council was established in 2003. Ralph Klein then premier, refused to join.
Councillors represent each of their governments, and councillors also sit with expertise and experience in areas such as community care, aboriginal health, nursing, health education and administration, finance, medicine and pharmacy.
Participating jurisdictions include British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the federal government.
As it stands, there is currently no representation in the provinces of Alberta and Quebec.
In 2004, Prime Minster Martin’s Liberal government signed a 10-year, $41.2-billion Federal-Provincial-Territorial Health Accord that was supposed to “heal health care for a generation.”
Regrettably, the Martin government gave the provinces a blank cheque with few strings attached. To the delight of Klein, there would be no accountability on how the health funds would be spent. The “buy transformative change” advice prescribed by the Romanow-led Royal Commission on the Future of Health Care was not heeded.
Instead Premier Klein launched the infamous “third way,” which was abandoned and replaced in 2008 by Premier Ed Stelmach’s new Alberta Health Services “super board,” the introduction of Alberta’s Health Legislation: Moving Forward, and the new Alberta Health Act.
The Alberta government should now join the Canada Health Council and support the urgent negotiations with the other provinces and the federal government for the renewal of a National Health Accord.
They should be working together in common purpose to meet the evolving health care needs of Canadians; advancement through the sharing of best practices; improved accountability and provision of information to make progress transparent to citizens; and jurisdictional flexibility.
All provinces and the federal government must work together to support and protect the health care programs their citizens need, and are willing to support with their taxes.
Sam Denhaan.
Red Deer